AURORA | Education is at the heart of the new Kids Clinic building that opened at Crawford Elementary School in January.
The staff at the 1,400-square-foot modular facility near Florence Street plays the traditional role of health care providers for K-8 students from the Aurora Public Schools district. The Kids Clinic fits the profile of a community, school-based clinic by offering once-a-week check-ups, dental services and immunizations provided by the clinic’s two full-time employees from the Children’s Hospital Colorado.
But Anne Taylor, director of Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics, insists that the mission of the new clinic is closely tied to learning. Along with Aurora Mental Health and the Children’s Hospital Colorado, RMYC is one of the organizations that operates the clinic funded through $450,000 in money from the federal Affordable Care Act. The clinic is open to APS students and their siblings from kindergarten to
8th grade.
The clinic offers routine physicals, treatment of chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes, immunizations and other basic services, all of which have a strong link to students’ academic lives.
“These are going to be the kids that have a tougher time accessing health care and miss a lot more school,” said Taylor, referring to the students at a Title 1 school such as Crawford, which enrolls a high number of kids from poor families who qualify for free or reduced lunch. “They may have poor academic performance because they don’t know that they have untreated diabetes … The ultimate goal is to raise the equity in academics among all children, because one of the biggest barriers to kids being able to learn is health issues.”
The new clinic at Crawford and a similar facility opening at Laredo Elementary School in June will further that goal with more space and a bigger range of services. At Crawford, a clinic in one of the school’s old classrooms launched with a similar mission in 2008. But because of space and schedule limitations, the scope of that clinic was smaller. It couldn’t stay open any later than the school, Taylor said, and dental and mental health services weren’t always available on-site.
By contrast, the new modular clinic is a standalone facility that stays open when the school is closed. Aurora Mental Health officials are in the clinic three times a week, and Children’s Hospital Colorado staff are on hand once a week to offer restorative
dental care.
“Now we have a fully integrated model,” Taylor said.
RMYC also operates mobile clinics and offers adolescent services through independent, standalone facilities, but the model at Crawford serves a
specific need.
Crawford Elementary has more than 600 students, and more than 90 percent of those children qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school enrolls a high number of foreign-speaking students, including refugees from across the globe. That’s part of the reason why the need for a full-service, school-based clinic is so needed, Taylor said.
Sergio Ortega and Marlem Ortiz were taking advantage of the clinic’s care last week. The couple were at the building with their 10-year-old daughter, Andrea Emily, and their 4-year-old son, Sergio Miguel. The family recently moved to Aurora from Thornton, and quickly discovered the value of the new community clinic.
“This is closer to home,” Sergio Ortega said through a translator as they waited for the results of Andrea Emily’s checkup. “We feel familiar with the doctors and staff here.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com
Wait a minute, are our schools now expanding into the health care market? How about we get the primary purpose of their existence working first, like EDUCATING!